


The Life and Times of Beth Greene and Daryl Dixon

by Feliz



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-25
Updated: 2016-01-20
Packaged: 2018-03-08 23:56:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3228326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Feliz/pseuds/Feliz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Random drabbles of Beth and Daryl in various non-ZA AUs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> You know how you get those random fic scenes that pop into your head and you know you will NEVER write that fic? These are those scenes.

_Stables of Lord Greene, 1783_

Lady Elizabeth patiently waited until nightfall before slipping from her chambers, past her maid servant and out of the manor to the stables. Her plan was simple; she had stashed a pack of supplies in the back of Nelly's stall, all she had to do was saddle the horse and she could be on her way. 

She gathered her tack and placed a blanket atop Nelly's withers, noticing that the horse seemed to sense something out of the ordinary was occuring and had begun to react. She gently ran her hands along the horse's flank. “There, there sweet Nelly. Just a few moments more and we shall be on our way.”

“If you don't mind me asking, your way to where exactly?”

“Good heavens!” She spun toward her intruder, hand clutched to her chest. “You frightened me.”

A man she did not recognize stood before her in stableman's attire, hay clinging to his pants, hair longer than decorum allowed. “I am sorry about that, my Lady. That was not my intention.”

“These stables belong to Lord Greene. State your name and your business here at this hour.”

“I have accompanied Lord Grimes here to discuss business with your father. Conversations ran into the night and the Lady of the house generously offered accomodations for the evening. We will begin voyage home at first light.”

“Sir, my mother is a woman kind of spirit and generous of heart; she would never have relegated anyone to stay in the stables over the night's coldest hours.”

“Of course not, ma'am. The Lady did extend her generous invitation to me as well, though I had to respectfully decline.” The man dropped his eyes, hands clasped behind his back. 

“And why is that, pray tell?”

The man cleared his throat before glancing up at her from behind his too long hair. “Lord Grimes recently lost the lady of the manor to fever. As such, he's been somewhat fearful regarding the safety of his children. Paranoid though it may be, it gives him a bit of comfort to know that I am keeping watch.”

“So you spend the night amid livestock in order to give him peace of mind?”

His eyes glance up again, narrowing in her direction. “I beg your pardon, my Lady. Though I owe no explanation to a child, I would give my life for any member of the Grimes family. A little sleep given to their stead is a price I am happy to pay.”

She is allowing this stranger to distract her. Time is of the essence. “My apologies for offending you. Your allegiance to Lord Grimes should not be my concern. Just as my destination this evening is none of yours.” She turns to Nelly and resumes securing the saddle into place. Once she is sure everything is set, she moves to lead the horse from the stall. Only the man is standing in her way.

“Sir, you will remove yourself from my path.”

Suddenly, the man seemed to have no trouble meeting her eyes straight on. “I cannot allow a girl of your age and standing to venture out at this hour unaccompanied.”

How dare he show up here in her stables and attempt to ruin a well-made plan. “I beg your pardon, but I fail to see how this is any of your concern. You are merely a footman for a visitor to my home. You have no authority over me or my actions. Now, move out of my way.”

“Again, my lady; I'm afraid I cannot. Push me further and I will not hesitate to notify the house staff of your intent to run into the night on some fool's errand.”

“A fool's errand? I assure you sir that my business this evening is of great import and I will not leave it unfinished.”

“Of great import? Then I must accompany you myself to ensure your safety and that your business is completed in the best manner.”

“And what of your allegiance to Lord Grimes? You would leave him unattended?”

“Lord Grimes holds great affection for your father and he would make no different decision were he in my place. Now, as I'm offering you my services, the least you can do is tell me about this important mission we are embarking upon together.”

She had no knowledge of this rugged man in front of her, but for some unknown reason she felt kinship in his blue eyes. “Do I have your word that the details of this night will not leave your lips?”

He looked into her eyes for a moment before reaching to take her hand, bringing it to his lips. “My lady, you have my word. So long as my allegiance to you in no way conflicts with my allegiance to Lord Grimes, then no one shall know of our nocturnal adventures.”

Slightly flustered, she takes a breath and removes her hand from his, gathering her thoughts. “I am taking some supplies to my sister, Margaret. We are to meet at the bridge over the flowing creek in the North Woods.”

The man's eyes narrowed at her explanation. “For what reason? I know your father to be a honest man who would stop at nothing to care for his family.”

“If you must know, Margaret has fallen in love with a wonderful man who society believes to be inappropriate merely based on the country of his birth. Regardless of the nature of his heart or his mind, he is deemed 'less than' by those who have never spoken a single word to him. In order to be together, they have fled all they have known and taken to surviving on their own. Well, I will not cast them out to the wolves without a thought. I will do whatever I can to help them and assure their safety.”

The man scoffs. “To what end? Are they to live in the woods for the remainder of their lives? Scrounging for food and surviving on whatever supplies you are able to slip them?”

She feels it happening. She takes a deep breath and feels her spine straighten and her eyes narrow. “Sir, I have faith that the silly laws that prevent them from being wed will soon be abolished. I have faith that there are good people in this world who understand what is important and see past the attributes that do not matter. I have faith that those voices will rise above and bring about change for the better.”

She reached up for Nelly's reins and, placing her foot in the stirrup, she pulled herself up on the horse without assistance. She looked to see the man watching her, seemingly impressed at the feat. She was not surprised; most underestimated her strength, both in body and mind. 

“Now, accompany me or not, but I really must take my leave.”

He gave her a small smirk. “Just give me a moment to prepare a mount, my lady.”

“Please, my name is Elizabeth, but my family calls me Beth. Either of these are preferable to this dreadful 'my lady' business.”

He looked up from tethering a horse of his own, giving her a short nod. “Very well.”

“And your name?”

He stepped into the stirrup before pulling atop and swinging his leg over the animal. He grabbed the reins and pulled up beside her before answering. “Daryl Dixon.”

“Well, I suppose you're my chaperone, Mr. Dixon.”


	2. Chapter 2

Beth is beyond exhausted. Between graduate school and her job at a local veterinary clinic, she feels like she's running in a million directions at once. She misses her parents, her sister, the farm and she can't remember the last time she was actually in the same room as Daryl. It's 10:00 on a Thursday night and she has just finished her last exam. In celebration, Beth has taken a long weekend off of work but she has not decided what she wants to do yet. Part of her wants to immediately head to the farm to see her family but the other part of her wants to hole up in her apartment, just her and Daryl for three full days. 

At this very moment though, she has more pressing concerns than what to do with the next few days. Like, how to gather enough strength to walk all the way across campus to day student parking to her car. Or how she is going to be able to stay awake for the twenty minute drive home. She makes her way down two flights of stairs and across the lobby of the science building. She steps out the front door into the Georgia heat, eyes on the ground in front of her just trying to force one foot in front of the other. 

“Need a lift?”

Beth stops and looks toward the voice and there he is, leaned against his old, beat up truck, arms crossed over his chest. She just stares at him for a minute because maybe he's not really there; maybe Beth has hit her sleep deprivation limit and she's seeing things. He's a Daryl mirage. 

She hears him snicker as he comes toward her. “C'mon girl, let's get on the road.” He takes her bag off her shoulder and leads her to the truck, slinging the bag in the floorboard. She climbs into the passenger seat and gets distracted by the pile in the middle. It's the pillow from her bed with the fleece blanket she keeps on the back on the couch folded up on top of it. She turns back to ask Daryl about it, to find him reaching across her lap to fasten her seat belt. “Don't worry about your car; Merle and I took it back to the house. Figured it'd be safer to leave it there for the a few days.”

He shuts her door and by the time he's made his way around and into the driver's seat, she's finally found her voice. “Am I being kidnapped? I mean, I'm too tired to fight it at this point, but I was just wonderin'.”

“Sorta, I guess.” He reaches up to grab a bag off the dashboard and hands it to her. “Got you a blueberry doughnut and a hot chocolate; thought you might be hungry.”

“Okay, thanks. What's with the pillow and blanket?”

“We're headin' to Senoia, thought you might wanna sleep on the way.”

“Really? I need to pack some clothes and stuff.”

“I threw some shit in a bag for you.”

“Oh.”

Daryl waits a beat, before he turns a smirk toward her. “Maggie sent me a list. I never shoulda given your sister my cell phone number.”

“I'm not firin' on all cylinders right now, but are we really goin' to the farm?”

“Yeah, I talked to your Momma yesterday. I tried to tell her you'd probably just sleep Friday away, but I think she's determined to make you a big breakfast.”

“How long you been plannin' this?”

“Long enough that we couldn't tell Glenn.”

Beth laughs. She decides against the doughnut and undoes her seat belt before lifting the pillow/blanket pile to slide over next to Daryl. She clicks the middle seat belt into place around her before spreading the blanket across her legs. She cuddles up to him, laying her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. “Are you going to stay?”

She feels him press a kiss to the top of her head. “Try and keep me away.”

Beth falls asleep almost immediately; the warmth of Daryl beside her, the feel of miles disappearing behind her.


	3. Captive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beth Greene is being held against her will and it's all Daryl's fault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm working on a ghost trope fic where ghost!Beth is driving Daryl crazy (think Bethyl ala Just Like Heaven) but I couldn't get this scene out of my head. Since it won't work in that fic, I'm dropping it here. Clearly this has not been reviewed and is likely full of misspellings and missing words and all mistakes are purely my fault. 
> 
> All characters are owned by people with a lot more money than me and no copyright infringement is intended.

It's official; Beth Greene is being held against her will. She has spent the better part of the last two hours trying to find an out, looking for any escape to no avail. Some would say her captors are decent because they are feeding her, but Beth knows the real truth. Clearly they are sadists based on the torture she has been subjected to here. A half hour conversation on Dungeons and Dragons characters? How can Glenn still be talking about this? All the while with a chunk of broccoli stuck between his two front teeth. Can't he feel that?! 

Beth sighs again as she glances to the left at her companion. He's as into the conversation as Glenn, telling stories of his own. Even Maggie is laughing and occasionally interrupting with comments. Beth wonders when has Maggie ever played D & D? Also, where the hell is that waitress with her second slice of cheesecake? And just how hard would she have to push in order to shove . . . crap. She forgot his name again. Something that starts with an "A"; Aaron? Andy? Alex? Whatever. How hard would she have to shove _this guy_ to send him flying from the booth so Beth could run for sweet, sweet freedom? 

She glances around at her companions again. She doesn't think she has said a word in over an hour and no one seems to have noticed. So why does she even have to sit here? She looks at her watch and decides they have five more minutes. If they do not leave here in the next five minutes, she is going to excuse herself to the bathroom and jump out the window. She can manage the 10 mile walk home. Actually, she'd happily walk 10 miles to get out of this entire interaction. Plus she'll have her cheesecake to keep her company. 

Beth realizes that she's just been staring down at the table top smiling and quickly glances at the others. As predicted, no one is even looking her way. She sighs again and rests her elbow on the table, chin in her hand. She is certainly going to give Maggie hell for this later. And Glenn too of course, as he clearly picked this guy. Actually, there is only one person Beth can really blame for her current predicament: Daryl Dixon. 

If it weren't for Daryl, Beth would be nestled on her couch right now wearing her super warm bunny socks, watching something embarrassing on TV, eating as much cheesecake as she wanted without judgemental waitress glares. And Daryl would be there drinking the beer she keeps for him, acting like he didn't want to watch The Real Housewives that her DVR mysteriously started recording while constantly rewinding the parts she talks over because he doesn't want to miss any of it. 

But they're not there. On her old couch. Together. 

Instead, she's sitting here with a stranger and she hasn't seen Daryl in two months. Daryl, who always made sure to check all the doors and windows before he left her little house at night. Who bought Beth the damn bunny socks just so he could make fun of her. Who would drive to the Publix ("That's just a fancy Piggly Wiggly.") in Peachtree City to get her cheesecake from the bakery. Daryl who walked away. 

Beth knows it's not really fair to say that, to just break it down to the barest facts like that explains anything. _Daryl got scared, which means Daryl got mad. Beth got mad and told Daryl to leave. Daryl left._ Seems like such a small and insignificant way to describe something so life changing for Beth. And if she's had anything lately it's certainly been free time. To think about what happened and her part in all of it. Though she hasn't said to Maggie or anyone else, deep down she knows this whole thing is her fault. She pushed him, told him it hurt for him to only be half in this relationship. And if there is one thing Daryl Dixon refused to do, it was hurt Beth Greene. So he left. 

Other times Beth thinks she did nothing wrong and Daryl is the stubborn ass who ruined a whole relationship over one little word: "we". That is what started this whole thing. It had been a normal Thursday night with dinner and TV and the possibility of sex later if Beth doesn't fall asleep on the couch. She had gotten up to go to the bathroom, and noticing the wonky couch spring had been digging into her leg, as she walked away she commented "We really need to get a new couch". 

That was it. Eight little words. 

She had come out of the bathroom to find him standing by the door muttering something about needing to be at the shop early the next day. Beth didn't hear from him for three days. She called and texted him, even went to his house to find it empty. It was like he had vanished. Because of a passing comment about furniture. 

Well, to be fair, Beth knows it wasn't the furniture part he didn't like. It was the insinuation that they would own furniture _together_ , like this was a serious relationship. And Daryl couldn't handle that. After all, we're talking about someone who refused to ever call Beth his girlfriend, meet her parents or even make plans with her more than a day in advance. Clearly he wasn't looking to be tied down. 

And Beth had thought she'd made her peace with that. But when Daryl showed back up after three days of radio silence she somehow heard herself saying they needed to 'talk about us', which was probably the worst thing she could have said at the time. Like a cobra in a corner, Daryl had hit back asking why Beth always had to 'talk so much about shit that don't matter' and they were off. She couldn't even remember all the hurtful things they said to each other but she remembers the ultimatum; "get in this relationship or get out of it, because it hurts too much to be stuck in the middle." So Daryl turned around and walked out the door. 

She gave them both two days to cool down before she went looking for him. But apparently while Beth was doing a lot crying, eating and sleeping, Daryl was busy boarding up his house, getting a leave from the auto shop and changing his phone number. He disappeared and Beth had no idea how to find him. Turns out she didn’t really know much about Daryl after all. Like, what was the name of the town where he grew up? Where's his brother at now? It's hard to find a stranger when they don't want to be found. 

So that's how Beth ended up here. In real people clothes on a Friday night sitting beside a guy wearing a bow tie, still not enjoying her second piece of cheesecake, watching Maggie and Glenn laughing and poking fun at each other. God, they're so cute she just wants to punch them right in the face. Like seriously. Hard as she can. 

Beth comes back to real life when the waitress (finally!) shows up with her cheesecake in a convenient to go container along with the Glenn's receipt. She doesn't even feel bad that Glenn is footing the bill for this farce since the whole thing was his idea anyway. Maggie kept harping about how much Glenn misses the couples hanging out, but Beth thinks he just misses Daryl. Glenn really idolized him, with his motorcycle and bad boy attitude. He kept trying to convince Daryl that they should refer to themselves as MAGGs (Men Against Greene Girls); she's pretty sure she saw a logo drafted once. 

Once they get outside, she turns to _this guy_ to tell him that she had a wonderful time, but she and cheesecake are going to head home. Before she can get the words out, she sees Glenn's face light up as he starts waving to someone behind her. 

"Daryl! Hey!" 

Ideally, Beth would have taken a moment to prepare herself but of course she just immediately spins and there he is; standing beside his bike, wearing that stupid leather vest. (Oh who's she kidding, she wants to have sex with him in nothing but that vest.) 

"Daryl. What are you doing here?" 

"Looking for you. You out with this guy?" So, no pleasantries apparently, just straight to the point. 

"Guess that's not really your business anymore, is it?" Daryl 's head is down and he is glancing at her through the hair he clearly hasn't cut in the time they've been apart. How does he pull off that lost puppy/romance novel hero look so well? Focus Beth. 

"Can we go somewhere? Just the two of us?" More puppy eyes. 

"No, Daryl; we can't just 'go somewhere'. I'm on a date with . . . someone." That was awkward. 

"Daryl! Are you back for good? We should hang out tomorrow!"Leave it to Glenn to make things more awkward. 

Daryl looks behind her to where she assumes Glenn is standing, probably looking like a kid at Disneyland. "Hopin' to be busy tomorrow buddy, but we'll catch up sometime." 

Ugh, passive aggressive boy bullshit. Beth narrows her eyes at Daryl and takes a step toward him. "If you're waiting to make plans with me, you best take Glenn up on all his offers for the foreseeable future." 

"Why's that? You gonna be with this idiot? He's wearin' a damn bow tie!" 

"How dare you! Alan may not be much to look at, but at least he ain't embarrassed to be seen with me in public!" 

Daryl scoffs and takes a step toward her. "Girl, you know that ain't how it was." 

"I know you couldn't be bothered to actually participate in an adult relationship. I know you were more than happy to be with me in my house, but couldn't take two hours out of your precious schedule to come to Sunday lunch. I know you took off at the first sign of trouble like none of it was worth anything to you." 

Beth is yelling straight at Daryl's face and he's just standing there, staring at her all sad and lost. Suddenly she deflates and takes a step back. "I know I spent a year with you and feel like I don't know you at all." 

The silence seems deafening after her tirade. She stands firm watching him, refusing to be the one to walk away. 

"My name is Aiden, by the way." 

Beth sighs and closes her eyes. Man she really wishes she had fought Maggie harder on going out tonight. 

"And bow ties are actually cool again. Especially this one; it’s an X-Wing Starfighter." 

Daryl leans her around to look at Aiden. "Sorry man, you just ain't her type." He reaches down and grabs the hand not holding her cheesecake (as he doesn’t have a death wish) and takes a deep breath. "My middle name is David and when I's little, Merle would call me 3D 'cause he thought he was clever." Beth turns her hand in his to hold his in return. "In eighth grade I memorized the entire periodic table 'cause it was rainin' and I was bored. When the teacher gave us a test on it, I didn't answer a single question, but I flipped the test over and drew out the whole chart. She was so pissed." Beth giggles at that and Daryl squeezes her hand. "I lied to you once; told you I hated cheesecake. Ain't never tried it. Just didn't want you to feel like you had to share it with me." 

Beth feels like her chest is going to explode and she knows she must be wearing a ridiculous smile, standing in a Chili's parking lot holding Daryl's hand. In front of her date. Wait a minute. "How'd you know where I was tonight?" 

Daryl's cheeks turn pink and he ducks his head. "Your momma told me." 

"You talked to my momma?" 

"Mm-hmm. Went to the farm when you wasn't at home. I'da caught you at Maggie's 'fore this date even happened, but your momma's feisty. Wouldn't tell me where you were until your daddy had a talk with me. And then they made me stay for dinner so they could grill me more. But the fried chicken was damn good, so I ain't gonna complain." 

"You had fried chicken with my parents?" 

"Yep. Rode Nellie too. I's worried your daddy was just takin' me out to pasture 'cause it'd be easier to dispose of a body that way, but he let me live. This time anyway." 

"You rode my horse and had dinner with my parents?" 

"I'm done fighting, Beth. I ain't what you deserve and lord knows I don't deserve you, but I'm grabbin' on with both hands. And I ain't gonna let go again." 

Beth squeezes his hand again. "You wanna get outta here?" Daryl doesn't answer, just starts walking back toward his bike, pulling Beth along. She gets her cheesecake settled and works on getting her helmet situated when she hears Aiden speak up. 

"So, I guess she's not going to call me, huh?" 

"Yeah, sorry about that buddy." Glenn puts his arm around Aiden's shoulders and starts leading him to the car. "But that tie is pretty cool. Where'd you get that?" Maggie walks behind them making crazy hand motions at Beth that she assumes mean 'Holy shit, why didn't Daddy kill him?' and 'Call me with all details.' 

But as far as Beth is concerned, everything will just have to wait. For all her bellyaching about Daryl trying to hide their relationship, it's probably ironic that she doesn’t plan to leave the house for the foreseeable future.


End file.
